Thus in January, when we announced the upcoming rate increase, we did so estimating that a WPCA charge would not be necessary for several months after rate implementation. When we rendered our first bills under the new rate schedule in April, the WPCA was indeed zeroed out. The same was true for May. However, on June 1, the WPCA charge returned at a rate of $5.43 per 1,000 kWh. We expect smaller increases to the WPCA charge through the end of the year.

Demand is driving wholesale power costs. This winter we set two demand records.

In the January newsletter we discussed the factors driving electric rates up and what opportunities were at our disposal to control costs. In the area of wholesale power costs, which made up 57% of Tideland’s operating expenses in 2025, we noted that charges to the co-op are increasing most dramatically for energy used during peak demand periods.

Between Jan. 30 and Feb. 2, Tideland set two new demand records totaling 237 megawatts (MW) during Winter Storm Gianna. Our historic average for those two months is 168MW. Thus our average winter peak demand increased 41% (69.5MW). What does that look like in terms of dollars?

Our combined January and February power bills were $7.8 million. Of that $7.8 million, $4.7 million was billed for peak demand. That means 60% of what we paid for power in January and February wasn’t related to the months’ long consumption of electricity (kWh) but rather to the peak system capacity required to meet our energy needs during each month’s one-hour peak period. That’s a $1.9 million unbudgeted increase to Tideland’s annual power costs at what was the start of our fiscal year.

This serves to underscore the importance of Tideland members observing an off-peak lifestyle, whether or not you choose to enroll in our new time-of-use rate. If you can shift energy use away from the hours of 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.. now through Oct. 15, we all stand to save.